MISCELLANEOUS. 1223 



"The right, therefore, of fishing on any part of the coast of Nova 

 Scotia, at a greater distance than three miles, is so plain, that it would 

 be difficult to conceive on what ground it could be drawn in question, 

 had not attempts been already made by the provincial authorities of 

 her Majesty's colonies to interfere with its exercise. These attempts 

 have formed the subject of repeated complaints on the part of the 

 government of the United States, as will appear from several notes 

 addressed by the predecessor of the undersigned to Lord Palmerston. 



"From the construction attempted to be placed, on former occa- 

 sions, upon the first article of the treaty of 1818, by the colonial au- 

 thorities, the undersigned supposes that the 'Washington' was seized 

 because she was found fishing in the Bay of Fundy, and on the ground 

 that the lines within which American vessels are forbidden to nsh are 

 to run from headland to headland, and not to follow the shore. It is 

 plain, however, that neither the words nor the spirit of the conven- 

 tion admit of any such construction; nor, it is believed, was it set up 

 by the provincial authorities for several years after the negotiation of 

 that instrument. A glance at the map will show Lord Aberdeen that 

 there is, perhaps, no part of the great extent of the seacoasts of her 

 Majesty's possessions in America in which the right of an American 

 vessel to nsh can be subject to less doubt than that in which the 

 'Washington' was seized. 



"For a full statement of the nature of the complaints which have, 

 from time to time, been made by the government of the United States 

 against the proceedings of the colonial authorities of Great Britain, the 

 undersigned invites the attention of Lord Aberdeen to a note of Mr. 

 Stevenson, addressed to Lord Palmerston on the 27th of March, 1841. 

 The receipt of this note was acknowledged by Lord Palmerston on 

 the 2d of April, and Mr. Stevenson was informed that the subject was 

 referred by his lordship to the Secretary of State for the colonial 

 department. 



"On the 28th of the same month Mr. Stevenson was further in- 

 formed by Lord Palmerston, that he had received a letter from the 

 colonial department, acquainting his lordship that Mr. Stevenson's 

 communication would be forwarded to Lord Falkland, with instruc- 

 tions to inquire into the allegations contained therein, and to furnish 

 a detailed report upon the subject. The undersigned does not find on 

 the files of this legation any further communication from Lord Pal- 

 merston in reply to Mr. Stevenson's letter of the 27th March, 1841, and 

 he believes that letter still remains unanswered. 



"In reference to the case of the 'Washington,' and those of a similar 

 nature which have formerly occurred, the undersigned cannot but 

 remark upon the impropriety of the conduct of the colonial authorities 

 in undertaking, without directions from her Majesty's government, to 

 set up a new construction of a treaty between the United States and 

 England, and in proceeding to act upon it by the forcible seizure of 

 American vessels. 



"Such a summary procedure could only be justified by a case of 

 extreme necessity, and where some grave and impending mischief 

 required to be averted without delay. To proceed to the capture- of 

 vessels of a friendly power for taking a few fish within limits alleged to 

 be forbidden, although allowed by the express terms of the treaty, 

 must be regarded as a very objectionable stretch of provincial author- 

 ity. The case is obviously one for the consideration of the two govern- 



